When Michael Eugene Archer was three years old, his older brother Luther came home to find him almost perfectly playing a Prince song on the piano. As Luther later told Okayplayer:
"It was the first time I ever saw him play the piano. It was a full song that he played. It was specified and as good as anything else that I could’ve heard and seen back then... I think it was a part of Michael’s language and it was something that was put in him by the Lord."
That moment, in many ways, marked the beginning of D’Angelo’s long, winding journey. A musical prodigy with otherworldly talent, he went from playing music in his father's church to joining a local rap group, and eventually rose to become one of R&B’s brightest stars, blending old soul traditions with modern sounds. He became a reluctant superstar—and, over time, a mythical, reclusive figure—with one of the best catalogs in modern music.
D’Angelo died on Tuesday after a quiet battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 51. He leaves behind three children—and a remarkably complicated career arc. After releasing Brown Sugar in 1995, he became a breakout star, blending hip-hop’s raw, unpolished sensibility with the musicianship of funk, the warmth of soul, and the songwriting craft of classic R&B.
At a time when R&B was largely carried by hip-hop soul, D’Angelo brought something so new, the world couldn’t even define it. So his manager coined a term: neo-soul. D’Angelo simply called it Black music.
It would be five years before he returned—with Voodoo in 2000, a masterpiece recorded at Electric Lady Studios and featuring a collective of some of the era’s greatest musical minds, including drummer Questlove, jazz legend Roy Hargrove, producers J Dilla and James Poyser, and more.
Thanks to the single “Untitled (How Does It Feel)”—a full-on Prince homage—and its now-iconic Paul Hunter–directed video, D’Angelo became a true superstar. But fame didn’t always sit right. When everything outside the music—the celebrity, the parasocial obsession—started dominating the conversation, he withdrew. He wouldn’t release another album for 14 years. But when he did, it was Black Messiah, the most political work of his career.
There are no bad D’Angelo songs.
That includes album cuts, hip-hop remixes, guest features, and rare loosies. All exceptional. So ranking them? Not easy. There’s a good chance your favorite ended up near the bottom… or didn’t make the list at all.
Still, we did our best. Here are the 20 best D’Angelo songs of all time.
20.D'Angelo Feat. Method Man & Redman, "Left & Right" (1999)
Album: Voodoo
Writers: D'Angelo, Method Man, Redman & Q-Tip
What made D’Angelo’s Voodoo era so special was his ability to infuse hip-hop with his own unique recipe of soul and funk without conforming to mainstream sensibilities.
“Left & Right,” featuring the superduo Method Man and Redman, is a prime example of hip-hop and soul merging—Meth and Red bring the raunchiness, while D delivers the rugged sultriness. —Mark Braboy
19.D’Angelo and the Vanguard, "The Charade" (2014)
Album: Black Messiah
Writers: D’Angelo, Questlove, Kendra Foster
One of the aspects that separates Black Messiah from D’Angelo’s first two albums is its increased attention on socio-political issues.
Drawing heavy inspirations from the Minneapolis sound, “The Charade” is the most overtly political song in D’Angelo’s catalog.
The track features lyrics that denigrate systemic oppression and police brutality. (“All we wanted was a chance to talk/’Stead we only got outlined in chalk,” D’Angelo sings.) Released in the shadow of the murders of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, “The Charade” is among the best protest songs of the 2010s. —Matthew Allen
18.“Shit, Damn, Motherfucker” (1995)
Album: Brown Sugar
Writer: D’Angelo
D’Angelo was known for fusing elements of gospel, funk, and hip-hop. However, the explicit “Shit, Damn, Motherfucker” draws from the blues traditions of the early 20th century.
The song tells a story of a man catching his wife cheating with his best friend in their home. In a blind rage, he shoots them both and gets arrested. This type of storytelling—adjacent to the hypersexuality of mid-1990s R&B crooners—further separated D’Angelo as a different kind of Black artist.
Jazz legend Ron Carter was supposed to play upright bass on the song, but bowed out after opposing the NSFW title. —Matthew Allen
17."I Found My Smile Again" (1996)
Album: Space Jam: Music From and Inspired By The Motion Picture (1996)
Writer: D’Angelo
When D’Angelo was approached to compose a song for the Space Jam soundtrack, he originally wrote “Playa Playa,” a woozy funk jaunt with clever basketball references.
In the end, he wound up submitting “I Found My Smile Again,” a joyous love ballad that transitioned from a mysterious keyboard intro to a finger-popping celebration of love (and a metaphor for Michael Jordan rekindling his basketball passion) set to a knocking kick-and-snare combo. “Playa Playa” eventually found a home as Voodoo’s opening track. —Matthew Allen
16."Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine" (1995)
Album: Brown Sugar
Writer: D'Angelo
Maybe one of D's sweetest songs, "Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine" touches on a universally relatable topic: having a childlike crush and all the complicated feelings that come with it. Crafted in his bedroom, the song is carried by a gorgeous musical arrangement, including a audacious guitar solo.
Props also go to the many remixes. Multiple GOATs touched this one, including J Dilla, Erick Sermon, and DJ Premier. And yes, they all slap. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
15."Chicken Grease" (2000)
Album: High School High
Writers: D'Angelo, James Poyser & Questlove
One of D’Angelo’s greatest gifts was his ability to use music to turn anywhere into one big party. “Chicken Grease” easily transports the listener to an all night house party with lots of fried chicken frying on the hot stove served in aluminum trays, freshly lit joints, and carefree dancing and fellowship. The funky guitar in tandem with D’Angelo’s smokey voice brought this one to life. —Mark Braboy
14.Raphael Saadiq Feat. D’Angelo, "Be Here" (2002)
Album: Instant Vintage
Writers: Raphael Saadiq, D’Angelo, Bobby Ozuna & Glenn Standridge
“Be Here” is a gem from Raphael Saadiq’s solo debut, *Instant Vintage*. The song catches D’Angelo in a rare mode—he’s playful and unburdened. He croons, “I got more than just some good dick and some money,” with a Southern gentleman’s ease. As architects of modern R&B, they’ve crafted a sound that’s both raw and refined.
The motel balcony video only deepened his quiet sex icon mythology. But “Be Here” proved he didn’t always need to be mysterious, conceptual, or tormented. Sometimes, shit can just feel good. —Kia Turner
13.D'Angelo and The Vanguard, "Till It’s Done (Tutu)" (2014)
Album: Black Messiah
Writers: D’Angelo & Kendra Foster
Although Black American music is filled with social and political commentary, few songs touch on the ills of the environment.
“Till It’s Done (Tutu)” is a singular track on Black Messiah as well as D’Angelo’s entire catalog because he dared to juxtapose issues of the streets with issues of the planet.
Set against insane chord progressions, lines like “Carbon pollution is heating up the air/Do we really know? Do we even care/Acid rain drips on our trees and in our hair/Are you there,” harken to Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song” before it; “Till It's Done” challenges the audience’s apathy toward the problems plaguing the earth beneath us. —Matthew Allen
12."One Mo'Gin" (2000)
Album: Voodoo
Writer: D'Angelo
On “One Mo’Gin,” D'Angelo's vulnerability is unraveling. The track comes in like a juke joint record; muddy, mumbled, surrounded by moans. The line “And I wondered all this time ‘bout how you been…” isn’t the confident swagger of “Lady,” but a haunted check-in with someone long gone: a yearning sometimes too broken to move on. If "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" is mythologized desire (whether his or ours), “One Mo’Gin” is the cost of that lust. —Kia Turner
11."Cruisin'" (1995)
Album: Brown Sugar
Writers: William Robinson & Marvin Tarplin
D’Angelo’s beautiful rendition of Smokey Robinson’s "Cruisin'" was practically a morning soundtrack for Black '90s kids on our way to school.
Being the proud student of the proverbial school of Motown that he was, he took every soulful element from the original and not only expanded upon it, but gave it so much nostalgic warmth, you’d think bacon, pancakes and orange juice was right around the corner. —Mark Braboy
10.D’Angelo and the Vanguard, "Really Love" (2014)
Album: Black Messiah
Writers: D’Angelo, Gina Figueroa, Kendra Foster, Curtis Mayfield
The Grammy Award-winning “Really Love” opens with Spanish guitar and Brent Fischer’s orchestration—one of the most beautiful arrangements of his career. It also samples Curtis Mayfield, a musical ancestor from whom he sonically descends. It recalls Brown Sugar’s tenderness, but with a rasp that only self-imposed industry exile, fatherhood, and age could provide. —Kia Turner
9."Send It On" (2000)
Album: Voodoo
Writers: D’Angelo, Angie Stone, Luther Archer
After D’Angelo’s son was born, “Send It On” was the first song to emerge.
Written with his then partner and son’s mother, singer Angie Stone, and his brother Luther, “Send It On” is an instrumental interpolation of Kool and the Gang’s “Sea of Tranquility.”
D sings about the prospect of fatherhood coming as something he yearned for, something that frightened him, but ultimately something for him to embrace so he could pass on what he learned. Roy Hargrove’s luscious horns and D’Angelo’s closing gospel vocal vamp make “Send It On” one of D’s brightest achievements. —Matthew Allen
8."Africa" (2000)
Album: Voodoo
Writers: D’Angelo, Angie Stone, Questlove & Luther Archer
Following the peerless crescendo of D’Angelo’s sexual masterpiece, “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” “Africa” combines the wonder and pride of his son’s birth and the heritage of the motherland.
Built on a drum interpolation of Prince’s “I Wonder U,” Voodoo’s closing track elevates D’s gorgeous, tear-inducing tribute to his first child and Africa with high strikes of Fender Rhodes and dreamy backwards guitar that make the song sound like a lullaby. —Matthew Allen
7."Spanish Joint" (2000)
Album: Voodoo
Writers: D'Angelo & Roy Hargrove
Uptempo and D'Angelo were two words that didn't often go together. The amalgam of southern soul and Midwestern hip-hop lend to many songs of mid tempo or unusual time signatures.
That's what makes “Spanish Joint” a jewel in his legacy. Roy Hargrove's Latin tinged horn arrangement fused with Charlie Hunter's duel guitar and bass groove, the track induced listeners to dance, whether it was ballroom bachata dancing or grinding in a sweaty basement. —Matthew Allen
6."The Root"
Album: Voodoo
Writers: D'Angelo, Luther Archer & Charlie Hunter
Lead by production from Questlove and guitarist Charlie Hunter, “The Root” is one of D’Angelo’s most intricate productions.
There’s a twisted pleasure in his powerlessness. “She got it on me and I’m just fucked up,” he sings at one point.
Steeped in hoodoo and voodoo references, he becomes less heartbroken and almost possessed by the song’s end. In the lineage of Sly Stone, Prince, and Marvin Gaye, “The Root” blurs soul, blues, and gospel through his signature gritty growl and falsetto. It’s a sexual mid-tempo blues track at the height of the Soulquarians’ creative prime. —Kia Turner
5.Lauryn Hill Feat. D’Angelo, "Nothing Even Matters" (1998)
Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Writer: Lauryn Hill
“Nothing Evens Matter” is one of the very few occasions that D'Angelo recorded an original song that he didn't contribute any writing or production.
With that said, his sonic signifyers—delicate Fender Rhodes chords and a subtle organ—are ever present on the song.
The back-and-forth between Ms. Hill and D, as they take turns pledging wholly uninterrupted devotion toward each other, walks the fine line of sacred and sensual to perfection. The song was never released as an official single, but one would never tell based on all the radio play it received. —Matthew Allen
4."Lady" (1995)
Album: Brown Sugar
Writers: D'Angelo & Raphael Saadiq
Originally intended for Tony! Toni! Toné!, “Lady” became D’Angelo’s most definitive claim to modern soul, or what the world knows as neo-soul. He isn’t begging like Guy or Jodeci—mainly because he’s certain.
The song was one thing, but there were also the visuals: the effortlessly cool house party in the Hype Williams–directed video for the original. And then there’s the iconic remix by DJ Premier featuring AZ. That version’s video, starring Faith Evans, Erykah Badu, and Joi, played like a visual hymn to Black women and helped define neo-soul’s sacred femininity.
"Lady” rewired the entire genre. It made room for a kind of love song that could be cool and hip-hop without losing its soul. —Kia Turner
3."Devil’s Pie" (1998)
Album: Belly (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Writers: D'Angelo & DJ Premier
Soulquarians were hip-hop lovers who grew up on soul music. What neo-soul became—or rather was labeled as—could be distilled in a song like the DJ Premier-produced “Devil’s Pie.”
Voodoo indulges in the vices of sex, lust, fear, and the thin veil between sexuality and spirituality. On the track, D’Angelo mumbles through the seduction of materialism, dissecting the idea of selling out with lyrics like:
“Fuck the slice, we want the pie / Drugs and thugs, women and wine / Watch them all stand in line / For a slice of the devil's pie.”
D’Angelo was trying to warn us all. —Kia Turner
2."Brown Sugar" (1995)
Album: Brown Sugar
Writers: D'Angelo & Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Drawing from the influences of Roy Ayers and—intentionally or not—Rick James’ “Mary Jane,” the title track to his debut emerged during a polished moment in popular R&B.
Carrying a Marvin Gaye–like generational warmth, dipped in new-age hip-hop, “Brown Sugar” is a cool-headed love song about weed. Rooted in Philly Soul, its lyrical double entendres—like “even got a big sister by the name of Chocolate Ty”—made the indulgence feel intimate. —Kia Turner
1."Untitled (How Does It Feel)" (2000)
Album: Voodoo
Writers: D'Angelo & Raphael Saadiq
One day in the late 1990s, Raphael Saadiq was in New York City, in the mood to have a smoke.
He visited Electric Lady Studios knowing D'Angelo had some to share. While there, they decided to write a song real quick, and the result was “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” D’Angelo’s signature song.
The interplay between Saadiq's elastic guitar and D's vocals, “Untitled” became the manifestation of a sexual climax; a slow-paced, rising crescendo of tension until it reaches an explosion of ecstasy.
The Infamous music video notwithstanding, “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” will most likely be the first song one thinks of whenever D'Angelo's name is mentioned. —Matthew Allen